Clinton Travel Guide

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I don't particularly enjoy casinos, especially when I'm traveling alone on a road trip in the middle of the afternoon. But I still stopped at this one for a few minutes out of curiosity. I walked through all three floors and back out again in less than ten minutes.

Seeing expressionless smokers (or is is suckers) mindlessly dropping money into hungry slots just doesn't appeal to me. In every television commercial for a casino I've ever seen the people are upbeat and smiling. But in every real casino I've ever visited the folks there were downcast and dour.

Enough preaching.

Mississippi Belle II Riverboat Casino is a ship docked on the Mississippi River at Clinton Iowa, just across the river from Illinois. The 10,577 square foot casino features 506 slots and fourteen table games. There is also one restaurant.

Hours:
Sun. - Thurs. 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Fri. - Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.

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This is a franchise restaurant, but one which we do not have in my part of the country, so it was new to me. I found it to be reminiscent of other family type restaurants such as Shoneys or Frisches. You won't find gourmet fare here, but good basic food that looks and tastes good, at reasonable prices. The service was good too.

Favorite Dish: I had the beef stir fry, with salad and garlic toast, as you will see in my photo. The meal was well presented, tasty and satisfying.

Dessert was a little more disappointing. I had a slice of the "homemade" cherry pie. It was heavy and didn't taste homemade at all. I didn't finish mine - and I normally love cherry pie.

Take a step back in time to an era when river traffic slowed and everybody's wallets and bank accounts got smaller and smaller: The Great Depression. Thanks to the WPA this simple beauty, the formerly named Riverview Stadium, got built in the midst of all that hardship and they've been playing professional baseball here ever since then. This is the mood that the flashier, richer, new breed of minor league team are trying to replicate and package. They never get it right, but they are making a profit. For now. And for now, come to Clinton and enjoy the real thing.